Sustainable Hair Care Brand Nolé Builds Its U.S. Business
Sustainable hair care brand Nolé was born in Honduras, first debuted in Guatemala and is now available at inclusive e-commerce platform Thirteen Lune five months after its U.S. launch.
“We are very careful of where we place our brand, and we knew Thirteen Lune was a great fit for us,” said founder Alida Boer, who brought the brand to life as a result of her own encounter with postpartum hair loss.
More from WWD
When Boer traveled to Honduras years earlier on a business trip (Nolé is not the former Miss Guatemala’s first entrepreneurial venture; she also serves as the chief executive officer of handmade apparel and accessory brand, Maria’s Bag, which she founded in 2011), she came upon the country’s native batana oil, which is known in Central and South America for its wide-ranging benefits.
Extracted from the nut of the American Palm Tree by the indigenous Miskito people (also known as the Tawira, which translates to “the people of beautiful hair”), batana oil proved to be the solution for Boer’s own hair woes at the time.
That led her to create Nolé, seeking to ultimately bring the multipurpose oil’s benefits Stateside.
Consisting of vegan, cruelty-free shampoo and conditioner bars formulated to target different hair and scalp needs, Nolé debuted in Guatemala in March 2021. The following year it launched its direct-to-consumer website to U.S. and Canadian shoppers.
“We have 12 stockkeeping units, and they are all working right now,” Boer said. “We plan to stay in hair care for at least the next year, but we do want to create an amazing shower experience for consumers, and that obviously includes more than that.”
Among Nolé’s products are the Arnica for Volume set and the Radiance for Sensitive Skin set; the brand’s shampoo and conditioner bundles retail for $30, while individual bars can be purchased for $16.50.
While Boer did not comment on sales expectations, industry sources estimate the Arnica for Volume Set, which is one of the brand’s bestsellers, could reach $250,000 in sales during its first year in the U.S. market.
“At Thirteen Lune, our vision is to bring in brands that are putting inclusivity first by making products for people of all genders, skin tones, ethnicities, hair types and more,” said Nyakio Grieco, cofounder of Thirteen Lune in an email. “Nolé is an amazing, female Latinx-founded brand that we know is truly working to make clean products that are better for your hair and the environment.”
Thirteen Lune is the second e-tailer to carry Nolé, which launched on Amazon a few months earlier. The brand is also available in-store at nearly 20 small businesses across the U.S., and seeks to be in a total of 50 by the end of 2022.
“We want to grow steadily and smartly,” said Boer, who said bolstering the brand’s direct-to-consumer business is also a top priority, given the platform’s increased opportunity to personally connect with consumers through quizzes and other activations.
The founder also likened the brand’s intentional approach to retail partnerships to its product development strategy, “We want to have less products, but good products — products people need,” Boer said. “We are very conscious about that.”
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
